Turn with me this evening, if you would, in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah in chapter number three. Nehemiah chapter 3, and I just say to you again, if you have, and it's totally up to you, you don't have to have it, but if you have your little map of Jerusalem, we're going to circle the city tonight, if that makes any sense to you. If you have it, it may help you. It is, to me, helps me visualize, should be on page 2 there of your handouts, but It helps to visualize, I think, what is going on. I'm going to do something a little bit different this evening. It may be tempting to read past this chapter and consider it to be of minor importance or inconsequential or impractical because the bulk of this third chapter of Nehemiah is a bunch of people's names and places that we don't know and never heard of. Places that even now in modern day Jerusalem, they're not even necessarily sure which is which, not for sure. But there's a lot of richness in this third chapter of Nehemiah. There's 32 verses, I believe, here. And rather than reading it all in one setting, what I want to do with you tonight is I want to begin reading. And we're going to go gate by gate, if you will. We're going to read, and then we'll expound or not expound, depending on exactly what is to be found there. some more details about The the actual building process Let me just read a few verses and then we'll stop and comment and then we're gonna make our way reading through the book as we I'm sorry reading through the chapter as we go this evening Nehemiah chapter 3 verse 1 says then Elisha the high priest rose up with his brethren the priest and And they builded the Sheep Gate. And they sanctified it and set up the doors of it, even unto the tower of Mea. They sanctified it unto the tower of Hainaniel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zechor, the son of Emri." And let's just stop right there, just for the time being. You'll remember last week, Chapter 2, it took us several weeks, but we made our way through Chapter 2, and Nehemiah recruited help. Nehemiah, I mentioned it, I think we titled it last week, Nehemiah recruits or Nehemiah requests help for the task that is ahead. He goes out in chapter two, he takes a journey around some or all of the city wall. Remember, he went out by night to get an idea of what he was up against. And once he had a good idea of the task at hand, Nehemiah then recruited, called for the elders to gather together, got the rulers, the princes, the Levites, got all the groups of people together. And he says to them, here's what I want to do. Here's what God has put on my heart. God has put on my heart that we rebuild the wall. And as he rebuilds, as he's talking to them about rebuilding the wall, he shares with them how God had turned the heart of King Artaxerxes to give him permission to come back and to even have a rule of governorship to be in charge of this rebuilding effort, to be able to set aside the area governors and leaders that he has the right, not only that, but he has the necessary wood, in other words, that the king gave him permission to go to the lumber yard, is the language I use, go to the lumber yard and get the wood that he needs to rebuild the gates and these kinds of things. So he shares this with them and they all say it then again in chapter number two, the close of verse 18, they agree, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. That's chapter two, verse 18. And in Chapter 3, the work begins. And that's just simply, if I was going to put a title on tonight's message, that's what I'd call it. The rebuilding effort or the work begins. Nehemiah prayed about it for months. Nehemiah traveled for months. He got back into the city. You remember he took about a three-day vacation. Then he saw the job at hand, and the work begins. From chapter two into chapter three, it is almost bang, bang, bang. Just quickly, the work is beginning. There's a lot of practical things. I want to try to get some of this. As we go through, as we go through this, I want you to remember this. As we read through these names and these places, I want you to remember that the vast majority of the people that did the work, their names are not written in this book. The vast majority of the workers, their names are not given to us. Does that make their work any less significant? Absolutely not. I just want to say this and put this in the back of your mind as we go through this. Brothers and sisters, really the only thing that matters is that God knows what we do. God is aware of what we do. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don't know about. A lot of work gets done in your home. Let me just start right there. If you're a mom, how many things have you done that goes unnoticed, that seems unappreciated? In like manner, the vast majority of people that are involved in this process of rebuilding the wall, the majority of them, we don't know anything about them. But God knows their name, and God knows what they got done. And when it's all said and done, brothers and sisters, that's all that really matters anyway. God keeps track of it. I just say this, if any of us don't want to do a job because our name won't be bragged on or our name won't be elevated for it, we've got the wrong motive altogether. The only name that we should be interested in receiving glory is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What you say and do, you ought to do for His glory and His glory alone. What these people are going to do, and I want to impress upon you the magnitude of this task. This is no small feat. I read and I am told that some of the stones that they were going to have to move were about the size of our front porch. Don't get the idea now that they were just dealing with these little rocks and pebbles about the size of your hand. There was some of that. But there were also boulders that had to be moved. There was rubbish. The city had been laid like this for over 100 years. This was a massive undertaking. And Nehemiah couldn't get it done on his own, and he had a whole bunch of people. that showed up on the scene to help him, most of which we don't know anything about, but every one of which God knows every pebble they picked up. God knows everything that they did. And so I just say to you, child of God, keep on serving God. Keep on, whether it's a big task or a menial task. Whether it is something small and seemingly insignificant or something that's going to be done in front of others, you do it for the glory of God and only for the glory of God. The work begins. The work begins. This is a monumental task, but it begins. And it begins, quite interestingly, it begins at the Sheep Gate. Verses 1 and 2. We find that the work begins with the high priest and with the priest. I think it is fitting, and if you're looking for it, the Sheep Gate is due north, at the very top of your map there, just above the temple. I think that's fitting, that's where the work began. Right there on that map, right there at number five is the number I have listed to it, the Sheep Gate. That's where it begins, right there. Interestingly enough, The work starts with the high priest and the Levites just north of the temple at the sheep gate. And it was called the sheep gate because that's where they would bring most of the animals through and or sell animals for the sacrifices and offerings that were to be done. It begins with the high priest. I think there's to be a lesson to be mentioned in this that Whenever there's a job to be done, God's man ought to be involved in it. Not just point fingers, but I'm convinced that Nehemiah was hands-on on the work. And not only Nehemiah, these others, the high priest and these Levites, they were involved in this. And this is where it begins. It begins there at the sheep gate. And we're just going to make our way around the city. And it actually, it will go from your right to your left. They're going to go counterclockwise again throughout the city. And I've got a lot of practical application, and so we'll have to move through some of this pretty quickly. It's tempting. When I first started on this chapter, I said, there ain't going to be much to this chapter. I started to say, I'm going to have to get this and half of chapter four. Now I'm concerned if I'm going to get through chapter three tonight with you or not. This is where the work begins. Now realize, they've got to clear out all the rubble where Nebuchadnezzar came in and tore the old wall down. There were obviously, there were places where it was flattened to the ground and there were other places where there were pieces of the wall left. Some of the stone would have been pushed down the hill into the valleys. Some of the stone would have been not destroyed, but would have been greatly hurt or injured, if you will, by the fires that were set so that it couldn't be reused because it would become brittle. And a hundred years, a hundred years, over a hundred years now, things have been laying in a mess. So this is a big deal, and it begins. It begins right there at the very north at the Sheep Gate. And look at verse number And we're going to read verses 3 through 5. And verse 3 says, But the fish gate did the sons of Hassaniah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and next unto them repaired. And if you went through and circled that word repaired as it is found in this third chapter, I think 45 times that word is used. In other words, a lot of work was done. That's what I'm trying to submit to you. And next unto them, verse 4 says, next unto them repaired Merimoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Chaz. And next unto them repaired Meshulam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Nishezabiel. And unto them repaired Zadok, the son of Baana. And unto them, I'm sorry, and next unto them the Tekoites repaired But their nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord. Verses 3 through 5. So, what I want you to picture in your mind, up there at the Sheep Gate, when you look up here on this little map that you've got in front of you and you see up there at the Sheep Gate, you ought to see in your mind a picture of a whole bunch of people down there moving rock and building walls. You ought to picture people mixing mortar, doing all of this to try to rebuild these walls. From the sheep gate down to the fish gate, which is from number five to number six. We're going to go counterclockwise. This is where these men did the work. I'll mention a few things to you. You might think that whenever there's, nah, you know better. I started to say, you might think whenever there's a task to be done that everybody would just get excited about it and show up, but you know better than that, don't you? It is almost always the truth that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Doesn't that sound about right? I don't know. When I first started reading this, my inclination was, man, look at all these people that showed up, and there was a lot of them. You know as well as I know, not everybody showed up to put their hands to the work. I think the ones that did, I think they came enthusiastically, and I think they were dedicated. I want to tell you something, when you begin a task, and as big as this task was, I think they entered into it with enthusiasm and dedication. I'd say most everybody here tonight has began a task that you were really excited about. But maybe before too long, that excitement waned. When the enthusiasm leaves, the only thing that's going to keep the project going forward is dedication. Because I promise you, in any major job, there's gonna come a point where the enthusiasm wanes, where you're not as pumped up about this as you once were. It'll happen to them, and we'll study that, and you're gonna find it out. And when they are no longer excited about the work, they've got the commitment to the task that keeps them going. But not everybody's that way. Not everybody got excited about it. Not everybody was committed to it because the close of verse number five, you read these words, but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. Now that just very clearly tells us that there were some people that got busy and there were some that didn't. In this list that we're gonna go through, I want you to learn this. In this list we're gonna go through, there'll be people from different families, different towns, from different crafts, different trades, different callings, different positions of rank and governorship, but all of them had one common goal, and that was to get the task done. Yet we find that there was a group of people here in verse number five, that there was a group of people here Next under them, the Tekoites. I'm told that that village of Tekoa was some 11, 12, maybe as many as 15 miles outside of Jerusalem, and that these people traveled there to be a help In fact, as we go through this, I'm told that there's eight different villages outside of Jerusalem that are representative, people from outside of Jerusalem, eight different villages that are representative that show up to help. But the nobles, or the people, the princes, or the people with some authority from that village, they didn't show up to serve God. close verse number five says they put not there next to the work of the law now act the language here but not there next to it it is an agragarian language it has to deal with putting on an ox trying to get uh... trying to get an ox to Moe put a yoke on an ox to try to get it to till or turn the land. That's the very same language that is getting here. In other words, they were stiff-necked and stubborn. That's what I'm trying to say to you. Like trying to put a yoke on an ox that doesn't want to go to work. They were stiff-necked and stubborn and said, we're not going to help. We're not in favor of this. We're not supporting this work. And really, I think a lot of it had to do come with their own pride. They thought they were too good to get out there and mix a little mud. Too good to go out there and pick up rocks. Too good. Why, we're nobles. We're princes of Toccoa. We're not gonna go out there and sweep, and we're not gonna get out there and do all this menial work, no. And I just wanna say as I submit this to you, Every one of us, we each of us have work to do in God's kingdom and none of it is menial work. It all matters. They can't build until they first clear up. If your job is nothing more than going around and pushing rocks out of the way, it is a necessary job to get the work done. Don't be like these nobles and think, well, I'm too good to do that. When it comes to the service of God, it all matters. Whether people know it or recognize it or whether people see what you do, brothers and sisters, it doesn't matter. God keeps an account of what gets done and anything that is in his kingdom, anything that work that he has put on our hearts to do is nothing small or menial about it. These people here, these nobles of Tekoa robbed themselves of a blessing. You know how many people rob themselves of a blessing by excluding themselves from the work of God? When God's saints, I don't care what it is, if there is a task to be done, when God's saints exclude themselves from that, they only rob themselves of a blessing. I know not everybody can do everything, age, health, all these things play into it. But those who are able to do something and they don't do it, they're just robbing themselves of a blessing. These men of some rank, these nobles, men of nobility, decided they didn't want to go out here and push rocks around, so they stayed. Verse 6 through 11. Moreover, the old gate, and I'm just going to tell you, if you look out here on this handout that I've given you, I think that it is number 7, what is listed as the Mishnah gate on that handout that I've given you. We can't know for sure. Some want to take you down to the corner gate. I studied it. I'm not going to fight about it either way, but I think that it's what I've listed there is number seven, the Mishnah gate. is what's called the old gate. And this is actually, it's complicated. That's the only time in the whole Bible that that gate is called the old gate. The only time in the whole Bible. So it makes it complicated to find out whether or not for sure exactly which gate he's making reference to. But let me read verse six down to verse 11, because this is going to cover down to the tower of furnaces or tower of ovens. Verse six, moreover, the old gate required Jehoiada, I'm sorry, repaired Jehoiada, the son of Passaia, and Michelam, the son of Bessodiah. They laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Melatiah, the Gibeonite, and Jadon, the Miraniathite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river. Next unto him repaired Uziel, the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah, the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. And next unto them repaired Rephiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. Do you notice that? Verse 10, and next unto them repaired Jediah, the son of Herumot, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush, the son of Hashibaniah, Malchijah, the son of Haram, and Hashub, the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other pieces, and the tower of the furnaces." And you see that down there at the corner, down where the corner gate is, you see the tower of the furnaces. Let me pull a few things out of this particular portion of Scripture. Just notice with me and I can't paint it as pretty as it is. When you see these lines printed on this page, you don't see much. But what you should see is a whole group of people with different backgrounds, different callings, different gifts, All working side by side for the same cause. As a matter of fact, if you look at verse number eight, there are two almost extremes. Look at verse number eight. Next unto him appeared Uzziel the son of Herhiah of the goldsmiths. So there's men who are goldsmiths. Out there working. Silversmiths, goldsmiths, they're out there working. And guess who's right next to them working? People that make perfume. I find that very interesting. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries. And an apothecary is one that made oil or ointment. perfume, or maybe even what we may call a pharmacist today who would make some type of medicines, but just imagine that. They are side by side. This is, the work began late July, early August, so it's still hot. Side by side, you've got people from this village and this village and this village. You've got people who are, we read it right here, this man who was the ruler of over half of Jerusalem, a man of great authority, you've got people whose job it is, they're silversmiths, goldsmiths, you got men who are out here, they don't mix silver and gold, they mix liquids and perfumes and flowers, they mash that up. All of these people from a different background, different callings, different homes, all of these different people are all working together for one common purpose, and that is to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. How can you read this and not see that it is exactly, exactly like the Kingdom of God today? You and I from all different backgrounds, different places, different ages, different gifts, differing abilities, even outside of these four walls, but in the work of the kingdom and in the work of the church, God brings us all together for one common purpose, and that is to serve Him and to build His kingdom. We do so by preaching the gospel. We do so by carrying out the commission. We do so by meeting together. There are many ways that we build, but we build this kingdom together. people who are retired, people who are semi-retired, people who, their job is to, you know, sandblast, blast sand. There's people who sit in front of the computer all day, people from all different backgrounds, different places financially, different stages in life, all different, but we work together for one common purpose. You ought to see the beauty of that. And what it should be seen is rather than looking at the diversity among us, look at the common cause that we have together. For in Christ, we are all co-workers together. We're one. All these different things. I'm from North Carolina. You're from Georgia. You're from wherever. But look where we are. God has brought us together to build a future together. These different diversities, God gives them to us, I think, to strengthen the church, to grow the body. But people from all different places, different backgrounds. We go on reading, you're going to find, I think, verse number 11. In the close of that, you see the tower of the furnaces, and then we're going to move south now. There on the page, you're on the left-hand side of the page, on the western side of the city. Verse 12 says, And next unto him appeared Shalom, the son of Elohish, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. So in between the tower of the furnaces, Down there to the valley gate down at the bottom left hand side the southwest corner of the of the city Verse 12 tells us that a man named Shalom the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem Yes, so he's who he has out there working with him His daughters I'm sorry girls, but it's in the book. I Don't you find it interesting, and you've got to get a hold of it, this is a different culture, it's a different world. In today's economy, there's women in the workplace, there are women doing most every job that a man does. It would have been anti-cultural during this time period. Way back then, it would have been strange for women to be out mixing mud and moving rocks. But I think it is a great example of a man who sees the vast importance of this work and brings even his own daughters with him to get it done. Look at the differences. You see, when it comes to carrying the gospel, It doesn't matter if it comes out of the mouth of a preacher or out of a nine-year-old little girl. The power is not in the messenger. The power is in the message. It does not matter who carries the gospel, whether it's a daughter, whether it's a son, whether it's a ruler, whether it is a goldsmith, an apothecary. It doesn't matter who carries the message. What matters is that the message gets carried. And in this case, anti-cultural, abnormal. But this man says, we got to get this work done, and I'm going to bring my daughters to help get it done. I find this so interesting. Keep reading with me now. Verse number 13, the valley gate. Now, here's some names, but all the people underneath them that work, we don't know all of them. Verse 13, the Valley Gate repaired Hainan and the inhabitants of Zenoa. They built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the Dung Gate. So they rebuild the Valley Gate and work on the wall all the way over, moving west to east, over to number 10 to the Dung Gate. Again, people from this little village called Zenoa. Different place, different home. They're working. Now, I don't want to be irreverent in any way, but I'm just going to say this. Of all the places where you'd hate to be the one to have to go to work, you with me? It'd be down here at verse number 14. They put you in charge of the dung game. That's the sur. That's the modern-day language for that. Verse 14, But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab. Uh-oh. You read that? Verse number 14? But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bath-Hakkarim. He built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. I'm not trying to insinuate anything dirty or anything else, but it is where they would take the refuse out of the city. It is where they would take human waste, garbage, the trash. This dung gate led right out to where the Valley Shield was, where they would have that burn pile. And I'm not trying to be smart or sarcastic or slight or any of that. But even if it is repairing the dung gate, if it is done for the glory of God, it is an important job. You understand that? And I want you to see that this man that went to go do that was the ruler of a city. The ruler of a city. Traveled out to Los Angeles to go to that conference out there not too long ago. the Shepherds Conference. I don't remember it. I may have already shared this, and if I did, I'm sorry. You just have to get over it. You probably don't remember it anyway. I don't know all of the details, but there's a man out there who's a member of the church. He's not anything other than a member of the church. But he is the CEO or CFO of a huge company. They told me, I don't remember who it is, it's something Heinz or Kraft or somebody like that. This is a guy with a seven-figure salary. CEO, CFO of a major company out there in LA. And you know what he does, if I haven't shared this, this is a great story. He takes a week's vacation when the Shepherds Conference comes through. There's going to be 2,500 preachers there. He takes a week's vacation, spends the first couple of days helping them set up everything for the conference. The rest of the time during the conference, he gets down on his knees and he shines shoes free of charge for any pastor that wants to sit down. And this is a guy that makes a seven figure salary who has thousands of people that work underneath him. But when it comes time to serve some of God's men, he gets down on his knees and for three days shine shoes free of charge. I think he's been taught something, don't you? I don't care if it's going out here to the dumb game. where they take the refuse out, where that's the southern tip of the city, this is where the nastiness goes. There's a man who is in eternally in God's word that this man was the ruler of a village, but he went down there and did that job. Brethren, I don't care if it's unstopping the tulling. Amen? I don't care if it's unstopping the tulling, because we just had that last weekend. You do what you do for the glory of God. You hear me? You do what you do to be a blessing to others and to bring glory to God Almighty. Even if that means being in a place you don't want to be. Verse 15 now all the way to verse 25. I'm going to read that because it tackles a big portion of the wall. Verse 15 through verse 25. Verse 15 says, But the gate of the fountain You see it down there, it is actually number one, it is marked on your map, number one, the fountain gate, verses 15 through 25. With the gate of the fountain repaired Shalom, the son of Cal, or Kohoza, the ruler of the part of Mizpah, he built it and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloam, by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. After him repaired Nehemiah, and this is not the same Nehemiah, it's two different fellows. In fact, this guy came earlier in the book of Ezra. After him repaired Nehemiah, the son of Asbuk, the ruler over the half part of Bethzor, and unto the place over against the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. After him repaired the Levites. Rehum, the son of Bainai. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Kiliah in his part. After him repaired their brethren, Baibai, the son of Hinnadad, the ruler of the half part of Kiliah. And next to him repaired Ezra, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah. Another peace over against the going up to the armory at the turning of the wall. after him Barak the son of Zebi and I don't know why but in this the only time when it is mentioned here this way in verse 20 I don't know if he just had a mess maybe he had a bigger mess to deal with than anybody else but in verse 20 it says after him Barak the son of Zebi I earnestly repaired so that sort of inclines me to think he must have had a big something to deal with earnestly repaired the other piece from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Elisha, the high priest. After him repaired Merimoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Chaz, another piece from the door of the house of Elisha, even to the end of the house of Elisha. And after him repaired the priest, the men of the plain. After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. You see these men are working inside the city, even some of them near where they live. Verse 23, again, after him repaired Azariah, the son of Maaseah, the son of Ananiah, by his house. After him repaired Benuai, the son of Hinnadad, another piece from the house of Azariah, and to the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. Verse 25, Pelal, the son of Uzziah, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. And after him, Pedaiah, the son of Perosh. Boy, that was some tough names to get through. Again, not to make much of little, but I want you to notice out of this that there are people from every background. They're lined up side by side by side by side, rebuilding this wall. Different backgrounds, different places where they come from, all kinds of different issues with them all together. I skip this and will you let me go back because it's too good not to go back. And it ain't gonna make a lot of difference. Look at verse 11 real quick. This guy named Malkijah, the son of Haram. I put this in my notes but I forgot to mention it to you. Verse 11, that guy Malkijah, he's helping now to rebuild the wall. What is so interesting about him is this is one of the same men that is mentioned at the close of Ezra as one of the men that had married an unbelieving wife. He was a Levite, but he had married an unbelieving wife, and he was forced to divorce her in that arrangement that Ezra had with the people. Now get this. What he did was wrong, and it was a public failure. But God still used him. He was divorced. And had Nehemiah been like some of our Baptist brethren, they would have disqualified him from doing anything in the service of God. But I want you to see from this that even though he failed, and even though his failure was a public failure, God still used him and put his name specifically, put his name in there as one who was out there building the wall. Isn't it good to know that failure is not final with God? Even though you mess up and even if it is in a public way you mess up, God can still use you. Here he is busy. Verse 21, this guy named Merrimoth, and I'm getting back to where I was supposed to have been. This guy named Merrimoth, just so you know, is the same guy that was mentioned in verse number 4. Obviously he finished his task. And went to Nehemiah and said, what can I do now? In other words, I just draw this application. There's always something to do. You need something to do to serve God? Ask me. I'll give you something to do. It may not be anything more than I want you to block off an hour a day and pray, but if you want to do something, I'll do it. I can give you something to do. Get this. These people left their homes for about a two-month time span right at the prime time of harvest, August, September. And you understand they couldn't run down to Publix and buy groceries when they needed them. These people left their homes and thereby left the well-being of their families that are going to face opposition and spend a couple of months out here building a wall. This was hard work and during a hot time of the year. And this guy got done, Mary Moth got done with his portion that he originally started on. And so he went and go help somebody else. You want to know one of the greatest things that you can do as a child of God? Help others that are in need. If they seem to overwhelm with their task at hand, help them. One of the best things you can do for somebody else. I guess Mary Moth could have stood over top of him and said, you know, I already got mine done. I already rebuilt my portion of the wall. What's taking y'all so long? No. He got down there and I promise you, he got down there and he helped them. He helped them. Verse 25, and I'm going to move quickly here now. Verse 25 takes us up to the fountain gate, and these guys are going to build north up to the water gate. Verse number 26, moreover, the Nethanyims, these are the servants in the temple, sort of the bottom end, you know, these are the guys that go out and they get wood for the sacrifice, that kind of thing, to burn. These guys wash the priest's clothes, this kind of thing. Verse 26, Moreover, the Nethadim dwelt in Ophel unto the place Over against the water gate toward the east and the tower that lieth out. That's where they begin to work verse 27 After them the Ticoites again these they've already been mentioned These are some of the same people that have already done some work. They finished their tasks They go help somebody else verse 27 after them the Ticoites repaired another piece Over against the great tower that lieth out even into the wall of Ophel and you see right there as we head north Just north of the the Jihan spring there is the tower of Ophel. That's where they've built. That's where these these Coites that's where they work verse 28 through 31 The work surrounding the horse gate. From above the horse gate repaired the priest, everyone over against his house. These guys are working close to home. Verse 29, after them repaired Zadok, the son of Emmer, over against his house. After him repaired also Shimei, the son of Shekiniah, the keeper of the east gate. after him repaired Hananiah, the son of Shalamiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zelaph, another piece, after him repaired Meshulam, the son of Barakai, over against this chamber, after him repaired Malachi, the goldsmith's son, and to the place of the Nephilim, and of the merchants, over against the gate, Mikphad, and to the going up of the corner. So we're headed up now to the north towards the east gate. It doesn't seem A great big deal, but we have traveled in our short time of talking here, and I'll finish. But in our short little time of study here tonight, we've made our way all the way around the wall. You have any idea how much work that was? I mean, it was a huge task. I don't know. I tried to find that out. And here's the difficulty, Brother Frank, is because the walls were tore down and rebuilt and tore down and rebuilt. And they can't definitively identify. As a matter of fact, it is well thought that right here on the right side of the page where it says the Valley of Kidron, it is well thought that Nehemiah built up higher on the hillside simply because they didn't have the manpower or they didn't have enough to rebuild it all the way down into the valley like it was earlier. And so I tried to find that out, and they said that one of the difficulties is it's been built upon, it's been built upon, it's been built upon, and now it's being lived in, this city is being lived in, so they can't excavate to find out where the old ruins of the old walls were. And because the problem is in AD 70, this is going to be destroyed again. AD 70, Jerusalem will be destroyed again. So I tried to find a good answer to that because I wanted to know the same thing, brother, but there's just not a great answer. All I want to say, hundreds and hundreds of feet at the very least, if not miles around there. Let me read verse 32. And between the going up of the corner and to the sheep gate prepared the goldsmiths and the merchants. You see there's some goldsmiths and some guys who are merchants. They're working side by side and they finish. The story here finishes right back where it began at the sheep gate. Let me say one or two things and then I'll be done. We ought to work together from different backgrounds, different places in life. Different gifts, we should all work together for a future, build something together. It takes commitment, dedication, and may God give us all a little bit of enthusiasm about serving Him. It wouldn't kill anybody graveyard dead to have a little bit of joy of the Lord in their heart. When that joy fades, you got to have the dedication. Chapter 6, verse 10 says that God is not unrighteous to forget the labors of love. We don't know the vast majority of these people that are going to be doing this work. The vast majority of them, we don't know them. We don't know their names. We don't have any idea who they were, but God knows everything. God knows every stone they picked up. God knows every bit of work that they did. And one of the great things, and I'm going to just close with this because I think it's one of the most important parts of it. is everybody did what they were asked or assigned or volunteered to do. In other words, the people that were down at the dung gate didn't say, you know what, it'd be a lot nicer to go up to the sheep gate. And the people at the sheep gate didn't say, I'd like to go over to the horse gate. And the people at the horse gate said, I'd rather go over here to the old gate. Everybody did their job. You want to know how a church functions? when every member does what every member is called to do. When the hand does what the hand is supposed to do, when the foot does what the foot is supposed to do, when everybody does their own task. Not stand there, let me preach just a minute, I know it's Wednesday night and y'all worked all day, but give me just a minute. Not stand there and point at your neighbor and say they need to do this and they need to do that. No, I believe these people were so busy with their own tasks, they didn't have time to worry about everybody else was or wasn't doing. Every member will take care of your own part of the wall. You understand my analogy? Everybody will take care of your own part of the wall. Problem is, not everybody does that. Not everybody gets excited about the work. And if you can help, you help, but you don't help by pointing fingers, you get help by you getting down there where they are. If everyone would simply do the task, you know what gets done? The whole city wall gets built. But we're going to find in chapter number four, they were busy working, but they also had a lot of opposition along the way.